1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an edge connector for use in establishing an electrical connection between discrete paths on orthogonal planar members, and more particularly to an edge connector for establishing surface contact with discrete paths on a printed circuit mother board orthogonally disposed relative to a printed circuit daughter board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous edge connectors have been employed for establishing electrical integrity between discrete conductive surfaces on orthogonal disposed printed circuit mother boards and printed circuit daughter boards. These connectors have included devices in which the daughter board was mated to the mother board and the full force exerted by the connector was applied to the electrically conductive paths located on the surface of the printed circuit board during interconnection. Other devices have been employed which permitted the daughter board to be mated with the mother board with a low insertion force, which generally corresponded to the exertion of less contact force during mating than during operation of the fully mated circuit boards. In addition to low insertion face connectors, zero force connectors have also been employed. These zero insertion force edge connectors generally employ a camming element which can be activated after the orthogonally disposed printed circuit boards are fully mutually secured.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,463 discloses one connector in which the conductive traces on one or more orthogonally disposed boards are connected with electrical paths on a mother board. The connector disclosed therein employs soldered pins on one of the boards to establish contact with the conductive connecting elements in the connector assembly. These electrical conductive connecting paths are disposed on the exterior of a flexible film which is in turn spring biasing into engagement with the conductive traces on the orthogonally inserted and disposed printed circuit board. The connector apparatus described therein does not provide for low or zero insertion force.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,054 discloses another printed circuit electrical connector in which conductive paths are disposed on the exterior of a flexible film. A cam actuated spring member controls the application of normal forces on the orthogonally inserted printed circuit daughter board. The flexible circuit used as a connecting element is secured to the mother board at the base of a U-shaped channel by a nut member disposed on the interior of the U-shaped channel. The connecting flat flexible element is thus rigidly secured to the mother board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,139 discloses a card edge terminal connector employing a plurality of discrete spring metal contact elements. A linearly actuated camming member is employed to impart a normal force to the contact elements to make an electrical connection with a printed circuit board. The discrete contact elements are retained in and welded to holes extending through one printed circuit board.
A zero insertion force edge connector for use between a mother board and a daughter board is disclosed in a paper entitled High Density Impedance Control Connectors by A. T. Murphy, B. C. Desal, and F. J. Young distributed on May 15-17, 1984. This connector employs a dielectric film with conductors bonded to the exterior thereof to establish connection between conductive traces on orthogonally disposed mother and daughter boards. The connector contains spring elements secured to a plastic assembly which is transversely inserted and transversely shiftable relative to the orthogonally disposed printed circuit boards.
Although each of these connectors provides for electrical interconnection of orthogonally disposed printed circuit boards, increasingly high density, which can translate into closer spacings between conductive traces on printed circuit boards, the increased demands for greater and greater speed which corresponds to reduced time delay attributable to the connector, and the necessity for mechanically reliable and easily installable and replaceable connector elements foster the need for ever improved edge connectors.
The connector disclosed herein comprises an edge connector which is adapted for use with a connecting element generally as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,413 which comprises a dielectric film having discrete conductors disposed on the exterior thereof, and having elastomeric elements disposed on the interior of the dielectric film to impart resiliency to the element.